Corporation of Hamilton accounts for last year.

Reporting its financial statement for the year ending December, 1999, the Corporation ended with a loss of $540,711.

The deficit came as a result of initial construction work for a sewage plant, which is expected to be built this year.

Corporation Secretary Roger Sherratt said it had spent around $1.1 million on the project from its current fund, which would now meant it would have to borrow less for the entire scheme.

"If we hadn't done that, we would have finished up with a healthy excess of revenue,'' he said.

He added that the project did not go ahead because the Corporation was not satisfied with the bids it got for the work and as there were some technical matters to sort out.

The plan, which will cost between $5 and $6 million, is expected to start later this month.

Corporation makes loss Corporation revenue for the year was $14,768,833 and expenditure was $15,309,544.

Assets were $10,510,405, liabilities $8,199,151 and there was a surplus of $2,311,254 carried over from December, 1998.

Mr. Sherratt said Millennium celebrations amounted to $355,000 and were included in "civic function'' spending of $433,977.

He said Tall Ships 2000 spending was due to come out of the 2000 accounts, but were not as much as Millennium expenditure.

"Generally we are in a healthy state, there was quite a buoyant economy last year,'' he said.

Various parts of the docks and Corporation of Hamilton offices were upgraded during the year, he added.

There was also $152,363 spent on the final part of the initial CCTV scheme.